Sussex coach Mark Robinson says he feels let down by cricket bosses over the proposed schedule for 2010.

A year after the ECB decided to end the 40 over competition, it has been given a reprieve with 50 over cricket finishing at the end of this season, even though it is still being played at international level.

The Championship will remain as a two-division competition but the Twenty20 Cup is to be expanded into nine-team north and south conferences while the Pro40 League will feature three groups of seven with Scotland, Ireland and either Holland or the minor counties supplementing the 18 counties.

Sussex were the only county in favour of its retention when the ECB originally decided it had to go in 2007 but what has annoyed Robinson is the ECB’s U-turn on the proposed second Twenty20 competition, which would have seen two divisions based on this season’s results with more overseas players.

The plug was pulled on that in July because of concerns over TV and sponsorship deals.

Robinson said: “I was flabbergasted and felt let down when the P20 was scrapped midway through the season. We were led to believe it was a big competition and that it was important not to be in Division Two.

“We created a strategy to sign players for Division One once we qualified and now it has been abandoned.”

Ending 50 overs cricket has predictably brought the counties, who struggle to sell it to their members, and the England hierarchy into conflict.

The counties, including Sussex, voted 13-5 in favour of retaining 40 over cricket which has been part of the domestic calendar since the John Player Sunday League started in 1969.

Counties draw bigger crowds for 40 over matches, which are usually played in better late-summer weather, than early season 50 over games.

England one-day captain Paul Collingwood said: “Forty over cricket is what the public want in England so it’s been pushed in that direction but it is a hindrance and ideally you would want county cricket to mirror international cricket.”

The only concession to 50 overs cricket will be the same power plays and fielding restrictions as those which apply in one-day internationals.

But Robinson believes that could hamper the development of young bowlers, particularly spinners.

“I’m not sure about the use of power plays in the middle,” he added. “That could make it hard to use spinners, especially youngsters, to bowl in power plays. It makes it quite tough when you can only have three men outside the fielding circle.”

Sussex are keen that when the detailed schedule is unveiled that the traditional one-day final at Lord’s is retained.

Counties will be able to sign two overseas players for the Twenty20 Cup but only one will be permitted in the other competitions. The ECB have also said that the current two divisional Championship will remain until 2013 at the earliest.

Whether Sussex will remain in the top flight remains to be seen but the best they can hope for from their current game against Lancashire is a draw.

Only 28.2 overs were possible yesterday amid the showers during which Sussex advanced from 11-0 to 119-1, still trailing by 117 runs.

Joe Gatting was beaten by an in swinging yorker from Sajid Mahmood but skipper Mike Yardy, with his fifth half-century of the season, and Ed Joyce played aggressively in an unbroken stand of 108 in 21 overs.